Conferences

Are over. Thank goodness.

It was a grueling marathon of a day, long, exhilarating, and too intense for words. I have no voice left and my brain is mush, but I feel like tomorrow is the first day of school all over again. Today I told 46 parents that their children were pleasures to have in class, that I would like to see "more confidence in navigating the social agenda of 7th grade, that I love teaching them but sometimes I just have to use worksheets.

I was only yelled at by two out of 46, and in both cases the principal and department head ran after them to yell at them immediately. I was supported; the oldest, most veteran teachers set me up next to them in the front of the room and escorted parents to my table as if I was a celebrity. They want me to succeed, and the parents for the most part want their students to learn and have a great time. Who doesn't want their child to learn critical thinking, after all? And since I made Judaics about skills for life, there wasn't one person who thought my subject wasn't important. In fact, for all the talk about other agendas, I found that most parents were so willing to engage me as a key to their child's succcess that I wondered at times if it was true that the apathy all comes from home.

Now I just have to implement the million and one awesome suggestions that they gave me for the classes and their children. I'm glad that no one asked for the moon, and that I can help many of them just by being flexible in ways I already am.

Shout out what you think about the idea of my advisory students learning to run a 5k race for tzedaka (silly kinesthetics) and shout especially if you have an idea for how to make them think it up themselves...